Steam-turbine.



PATENITBD MAR. z2., 1904. y

F. D. SHEPHERD.

STEAM TURBINE.

F.PLIGATION FILED AUG. 11, 1903.

F0 MODEL.

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Witnesses P. D. SHEPHERD.

STEAM TURBINE. APPLIOATION FILED 11116.11, 1903.

` PATENTED MAR. 22.11904.A

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lullin Il @@Effvfgw @bungs PATBNTBD MAR. 22.-, 1904.

F. D. SHEPHERD. STBAM TURBINE. APPLIoAfrIN rILnD. AUG. 11. 190s.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

l0 MODEL.

snoei/dof v No. 755,062. PATENTED MARLZZ, 1904.V

, F. D. SHEPHERD., l

STEAM TURBINE.

A APPLICATION FILED AUG. 11. 190s.

No MonIzL.

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UNITED "STATES PATENT 1.()Irric1a V` FRANK D. SHEPHERD, or SALT'LAKE CITY, UTAH.V i

STEAM-TURBINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letter-.1 Patent No. 755,062, date-dMarch 22, 1,904. Application med August 11,1903. semi No. 169,120. (mman.)

L l'o (L7/Z whom, itmrty con/cern,.-

Be it known that'I, FRANK D. SHEPHERD, of

thereof, reference being had to the accompanyng drawings, in which- Figure i is a vertical longitudinal section oi a reversible compound steam-turbine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is 'an end elelvntionthcreot'. Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail view, partly in elevation and partly in horizontal section, to illustrate the arrangement of the stemn-inlet ports and the piston and guideblades; and Fig. 5 is a central longitudinal section of a compound double-acting turbine embodying` my invention, only the central portion of the engine being shown.

The object of my invention is to provide a rotary iiuid motor or engine of such construction as to be thoroughly practical, of high efficiency and economy in the use of steam or sible4 advantage, and capableoil being readily and easily put together in building it and taken apart when necessary; and to these ends mg; invention consists in the engine having the construction substantially as hereinafter specified and claimed.

' The object I have had more especially in View is to improve the engine for which I have been granted United States Patent No. 728,138, May l2, 1908, and it will be found that in some general particulars the engines which I have selected to illustrate my present invention are similar to the engine ot' said patent. As in the engine of my former patent the bodyof the engine is composed oi sections A, which contain or constitute the cylinders, said sections being placed horizontally and joined end to end, and there are a horizontal shaft B, disks or collars C, mounted l on and keyed to the shaft, having on their periphcries radially-extending blades c, disks or collars D, having no peripherial blades that bearings will be described hereinafter.

alternate with the disks C, and rings E in the cylinders encircling and concentric with the i cesife piston-blades toward the low-pressure 190 ldisks or collars, alternate rings being. provided with inwardly-projecting blades @,which extend into the spaces between the blades@l of the disks C. The outer ends of the cylinder are vclose by heads H, that are bolted to the cylinders, and i'n said heads bearings are proi vided for the shaft B, the construction of whichy .J In the case of the engines illustrated there 'are threel sections A, the middle one forming the steam chest or receiver and the other two the cylinders, and the cylinder-sections are provided at their ends next the middle sections With` outwardly-extended flanges a, through which bolts pass into the middle section, and thus 65,`A`

lthe three sections are joined together in avery .f A

simple and inexpensive manner.. IVithin the rmddle section A or-the steamchest is a ring I, in whose outer per1phery,1n the case of the reversible engine,'are two annular 7 0 grooves or chambers e', formed by a central circumferential partition if, and in the lcase j of the double-acting engine a single annular' groove or chamber 11. Opening from the chamber or chambers vi through each side of` 7 5` Y.

4the ring I is a circular series of holes orp'orts '212, through which steam iows from the chamber to the pistons on both sides thereof. Each cylinder, 'beginning with the one next the steam-chest or the high-pressure end of the 86v cylinder, enlarges in diameter toward its other end, and the series of rings-E correspondingly enlarge in diameter, While also beginning at the end of the series next the steam-chest the disks or `collars C and D are reduced in di- S5 ameter outward. leries of the rings and collars, respectively',

The inner and outer periphare preferably cylindrical, and as the blades of the rings and collars, respectively, are carried close to the periphery of the opposite 90y collar or ring, as the case may be, it results that the blades of the ring or collar project beyond the periphery of the preceding collar or-ring. The purpose oi' such arrangement is to prevent steam impinging on the ends of the blades and to compel all of it to act upon the sides thereof. Important practical differences come from the enlargement of the cylinderin the manner described: First, the sucand therefore the steam .can act with greater power, and, second, it is necessary merely to AIo remove the cylindcr-headwhen it is desired to remove the rings or disks and not to remove the cylinders, as Vis the case with theI construction of my former patent. Between the last ring E of `the series and the adjacent cylinder-head isa filling-ring J, which is provided with a holel or holes j, that register with an exhaust port or ports a. in the cylinder-section. Preferably more than one, preferably two, exhaust-ports a'are provided to enable smaller ports to be used than would be possible with one port of the same area to allow of the use of shorter cylinders, and thus reduce the length of the engine. I of course,

y however, do not limit myself to any particu- 'engagingseats in the rings. 25

lar number of ports. vided to prevent the ring J and the rings E, which have blades, from turning, which means may consist of screws passing through the cylinder and entering into openings or Between the last disk or collar C and the cylinder-head is a disk K, having a hub c, that extends close `to but docs not touch the cylinder-head,I

screws v' being passed through the hub to fasten it and its disk to the shaft B'. The

vshaft at itslongitudinal center is enlarged in diameter to form at each end of the enlarge? ment a shoulder, against which the adjacent piston-disk abuts, and with the 'disk K setup against the last one of the series next to it the series of disks will be securely held in place. To insure steam-tight joints between the abutting surfaces, .such surfaces are ground. L It will be observed that cach series of pistons is vmounted entirely independent of the other, so that the pistons of one series may be removed for repairs or cleaning without any disturbance of the pistons of the other series. For the sake of lightness the disks C and D have chambers or cavities turned or formed in their sides.

The shaft-bearing in each cylinder-head is one that I have designed especially for the engine, it being a thrust ball-bearing, the balls L thereof, mounted in a retainer composed of two rings united by screws, being engaged byl a shoulder on the shaft formed by reducing its diameter. Besides the balls theshaft has.I v

a ring-bearing that consists of two. concentric rings M, one fitting the other and their abutting faces being conical and having small radial holes through the'mleading to thel shaft' for the supply of oil to the latter and rings N* on opposite sides of the rings M. the outer rings N are screws O, that are accessible from the outside of the bearing foradjustingthe ring-bearing. Oil is supplied to the'shaft through the ring-bearingv holes through pipes connected with a suitable source of supply. The outer end of the hearing-box, which latter is in the form of an extension Suitable means are prov -one side to the other.

Engaging from the cylinder-head, is closed by ahead I), that is secured to 'thelbox by studs and nuts,

and a suitable stuffing-box isprovided for the shaft where it passes through said head. the bearing-boxen the inner side of the bearing-rings the shaft is suitably packed to pre-- vent oil finding its way along the shaft and into the cylinder where it would mingle with the steam andv render the latter unfit for boiler use. This packing may be of any desired scribe lit in detail. It is intended that any end thrust of the shaft that-might occur shall be taken by the ball-bearings; but if throughaccident this should not be accomplished damage to the engine from endwise'm'ovement of the shaft would.l be prevented' by the coming, ,A

in contact with the cylinder-head of the hub of the disk K. It is designed, however, that's'-r the two series of vpistons shall balance each other to obviate any end thrust.

,The description which is thus far given ap? i plies to both embodiments of my invention shown in the drawings; but as`differences of construction are required in the case of the reversible engine over the double-acting cnl gine the particulars in which the former dif-` fers from the latter will be now pointed out. .Referring more particularly to Fig. l, it will be found that between the two lpistons a partition is provided which consists of a disk L Q, keyed to' the shaft B, and a central inwardly-projecting annular iiange s on the ring I, said disk andl flange abutting and the.

joint between them being packed by pistonring packing to prevent leakage of steam fromv .jection of the ringI by centrifugal force. As therefare two annular partition grooves'or chambers i, separated by the partition 11', which respectively communicate with the two Leakage, however, is Y very improbable, as the steam will be thrown f outward along the sides of the internal proy ,v

cylinders, each of said chambers, of course, 4

has its own steam-inlet port R, and a valve S IIO is provided for alternately placing the two inlet-ports R in communication with the source `of supply of steam. Said valve may be of any desired construction; but an excellent one for the purpose is the rotary valve shown.`

This reversing-valve may be operated either by hand or lby power; The .governor-valve t, under. the control of a governor T, mounted on the shaft B, is preferably placed on top of the reversing-valve. The throttle-valve U is 'preferably placed above the governor-valve,

and of course the throttle-valve-may be oper ated eithenby hand or by power. As will be seen by reference to Fig.' 2, anarrangement of levers is'shown for operating the reversingvalve and the throttle-valve. Aderstood, however, that the construction and arrangement of the valves and their operating Itis to be unmechanism maybe any preferred, as these lh ave nothing to do with the invention.

75 construction, and it is not necessary to de- A f The ports i for the passage of steam from the steam-chest of the pistons are, as will be best seen by reference to Fig. 4, inclined forwardly of in the direction of rotation of the pistons, and the general direction of the piston-blades is a rearward inclination, while the general direction of the stationary steam directing or guiding blades is the same as that of the steam-ports. It will be observed by reference to Fig. 4 that the inclination of the ports and blades of both series is in the same direction; but as the steam iiows in opposite directions to the two series the effect is to produce a reverse direction of revolution, so that there is sameness of inclination of the blades only in comparison of the two series with each other. rIhe blades in the case of both engines illustrated are made separate from the rings and attached thereto by dovetailed tenons and slots, as is done in the engine of my former patent, and the blades of a series are spaced apart, so that the discharge edge of one blade reaches to a point in line with the back of the following blade in order to insure that all the particles of steam will come in contact with the blades of the series and be directed from one series to the next. In the case of the double-acting engine there is of course no reversing-valve; but a single annular steamchamber c' is required, and since both series of pistons simultaneously revolve and move in the same direction the inclination of the steam-ports and the pistons and guiding-blad es of the two series is not in the same but opposite directions; but as the steam flows to them from opposite directions its eifect is to drive both series of pistons in the same direction, and there is of course no partition between the two cylinders, as inthe case ofthe reversible engine.

The sections A have, preferably, a cylin drical form externally, and for supporting the engine the central section is extended downward and iianged, holes for anchor-bolts heing provided in the flanges, and beneath each outer section and near the outer end thereof a saddle V is placed, being bolted to the section and provided with flanges that have holes for anchor-bolts.

It will be understood that the engine will be provided with a suitable stairway and staging to enable the engineer to conveniently get at the higher parts of the engine which may require attention, such as the valves, and that a graphite or lubricant pump will be provided for supplyinglubricant to the packing-rings of the partition Q of the reversible engine; but it has not been considered necessary to illustrate these things. For the removal of water from the steam-chest when necessary a drain pipe or pipes W areprovided that lead from the bottom of the steam-chest downward and outward. Y

It is thought the operation of each of the engines illustrated will be understood from Vwhat has already been'said, so thatno detailed description thereof is necessary. Steam coming from the steam-chest through the ports will act directly at high pressure upon the nearest piston, and then it will act expansively on the succeeding piston and to the best possible advantage on account of the increasing space and the successive length of the piston-blades in the progress of the steam from the steam-chest to the exhaust end of the cylinders.

I have already mentioned particulars in which I do not confine the scope of my invention to special constructions, and it is to be understood generally that changes in details of construction may be made which will involve no departure from the principle of my invention. f

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isf l. In a steam-turbine, the combination of two cylinders in line with each other, a steamlchest between the two cylinders, a series of pistons in each cylinder consisting of disks having peripheral blades that successively increase in length, and rings in" each cylinder having inwardly-projecting blades, said rings being of successively-increasing diameter, the steam-chest having ports that deliver steam iirst to the piston with the shortest peripheral blades.

2. In a steam-turbine, the combination of two cylinders in line with each other, a steamchest intermediate the two cylinders, a series of pistons in each cylinder having steam-engaging blades, a series of blade-carrying rings in the cylinder that increase in diameter, beginning nearest the steam-chest, and a removable head closing each cylinder end.

3. In a steam-turbine, the combinationl of two cylinders in line with each other, a steamchest intermediate the cylinders, a series of pistons having fluid-engaging blades in each cylinder, a series of rings in each cylinder that increase in. diameter beginning nearest the steam-chest, a removable head closing the outer end of the cylinder, and a lling-ring next the removable head having an opening or openings coinciding with the exhaust opening or openings of the cylinder.

4. In a steam-turbine, the combination of two cylinders in line with each other, asteamchest intermediate the cylinders consisting of a chamb'ered ring, the sides of the ring having ports, a series of pistons having steam-engaging blades in each cylinder, a shaft on which the pistons are mounted having a shoulder to engage an end one of the pistons, and a clamping-disk engaging the other end one of the pistons.

5. In a steam-turbine,the combination of two cylinders in line with each other, a steamchest intermediate the cylinders, consisting of a chambered ring, the sidesof the ring having ports, a series of pistons having steam-en- IOO IIO

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gaging blades in each cylinder, a shaft Von which the pistons are mounted, having a shoulder to engage an end one of the pistons, and a clamping-disk engaging the other end one of the pistons, said clamping-disk having a hub adapted toiengage the cylinder end.

6. In -a steam-turbine, the combination of two cylinders in line with each other, a steamchest intermediate the cylinders, consisting of a chambered ring, the sides of the ring having ports, a series of pistons having steam-engaging vblades in each cylinder, a shaft on which the pistons are mounted, having a shoulder to engage an end one of the pistons, a clamping-disk engaging the other end one of the pistons, a series of blade-carrying rings in each cylinder that increase in diameter successively, beginning nearest the steam-chest, and a filling-ringin the cylinder having a hole or holes alining with an exhaust port or ports in the cylinder. l

7. In a steam-turbine, the combination of two cylinders in line with each other, a steamchest intermediate the cylinders, a series of pistons in each cylinder, consisting of disks having peripheral blades that successively increase in length, beginning nearest the steamchest, a shaft on which said disks are mounted, a shoulder or enlargement on the shaft engaging an end one of the series of disks, aclamping-disk engaging the other end piston-disk of the series, a series of blade-carrying rings in each cylinder, that successively increase in diameter beginningnearest to the steam-chest, a removable head closing the outer end of the cylinder, a filling-ring in the cylinder next the said head, having a hole or holes alining with van exhaust port or ports in the cylinder, and

means for holding said spacing-ring and said blade-carrying rings from rotation.

8. In a steam-turbine, the combination of two cylinders in line with each other, asteamchest intermediate the cylinders, outwardlyextending flanges on the two cylinders, bolts passing through said flanges into the sides of the steam-chest, a series of pistons in each cylinder, having steam-engaging blades that successively increase in length beginningnearest the steam-chest, a series of rings in each cylinder that successively increase in diameter beginning nearest the steam-chest, and a removable head closing the outer end of each cylinder.

9. In a steam-turbine, the combination of two cylinders in line with eachother, a steamchest intermediate the cylinders, aseries of pistons in each cylinder, a shaft on which said pistons are mounted, a ring having two annular chambers,fand separated `by a partition, the side walls of said ring having ports for the passage of steam from each chamber into the cylinder, and a reversing-valve.

10. In a steam-turbine, the combination of two cylinders. in line with each other, asteamchest intermediate the cylinders which consists of a chambered ring having ports leading to the cylinders, a series of pistons in each cylinder, a shaft on which the pistons are mounted, and a partition intermediate the two series of pistons within and fitting said chambered ring.

l1. In a steam-turbine, the combination of two Cylinders, a steam-chest intermediate the cylinders having a two-chambered ring, ports opening through each sid'eof the ring, a series of pistons in each cylinder, and a partition between the two series of pistons comprising a disk and an inwardly-projecting flange on said ring.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

FRANK D. SHEPHERD.

Witnesses: Y A

CHARLES M. CHANDLER, ORVILLE C. HATCH. 

